2012 Implementation and Effectiveness Monitoring Results for the Washington Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (CREP): Plant and Buffer Performance

The Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (CREP) is a voluntary program that offers financial incentives to farmers to restore riparian habitat and preclude agricultural activities in those buffers during the contract duration (10 or 15 years). The primary purpose of CREP is to restore habitat for salmon and steelhead and improve water quality in those streams.

This report summarizes the results of monitoring contracts signed through the end of 2012 and monitored for effectiveness for the calendar years of 2008-2012.

The study found that:

• The 2012 contracts added 28 stream miles, 440 acres of buffer, 175,000 seedlings, and 31,000 feet of fencing.
• Bank erosion was low with 8% average in younger contracts and 4% along older CREP sites.
• The sites are preventing the spread of invasive plant species while increasing the coverage by native species that can perform the necessary fish and wildlife functions of a riparian buffer. The CREP plants are surviving and growing quickly, providing important shade to the smaller streams.

For more information, download the full report.